''Chain'' is the debut Japanese

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(fourth overall) by South Korean boy band

NCT 127 NCT 127 () is the first fixed and second overall sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT, formed and managed by SM Entertainment. The current lineup consists of nine active members: Taeil, Johnny, Taeyong, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jungwoo ...

, the multi-national and second sub-unit of NCT. The five-track extended play was released on May 23, 2018 by their Japanese record label Avex Trax. With

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...

's founder Lee Soo-man serving as the

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

, the

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

, hip-hop and R&B record featured composition from

production team A production team is the group of technical staff who produce a play, television show, recording, or film. Generally the term refers to all individuals responsible for the technical aspects of creating of a particular product, regardless of where ...

Caesar & Loui, Kanata Okajima, 250, Albin Nordqvist, Kenzie, Mike Daley, MZMC,

Harvey Mason Jr. Harvey Jay Mason Jr. (born June 3, 1968) is an American record producer, songwriter, movie producer and current CEO of The Recording Academy. He has written and produced songs for artists including Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Deniece Wil ...

, J Que, Kevin Randolph, Mitchell Owens, Deez, Tay Jasper, Andrew Choi, MEG.ME and others. It was preceded by the Japanese version of "Limitless" as the first single on November 4, 2017, followed by the eponymous second single on May 8, 2018. To further promote the release, the group had their first showcase tour prior to its release. Upon its release, ''Chain'' achieved commercial success for the group. It debuted at number two of the Oricon Weekly Albums chart with 44,832 copies sold on its first week of release, eventually went on to achieve a total of 49,289 copies in Japan. In addition, the extended play also debuted at number eight on the ''Billboard'' World Albums Chart, earning the group's their fourth top-ten entry. It was NCT 127's last album to feature the nine-original member line-up, before the addition of member Jungwoo later in September 2018.

Background and release

In late 2017,

announced that NCT 127 would be one of their two idol groups to debut and hold accompanying showcase tour in Japan during spring of 2018, having signed with Japanese label Avex Trax for further marketing and promotion along with fellow labelmate Red Velvet. The group then revealed the extended play's title to be ''Chain'' on March 31, 2018, as well as the album covers and tracklist. It was released in a total of thirteen editions: ten CDs (nine being limited edition individual covers and a normal pressing CD), two CD+DVDs (one limited and one normal edition), and a limited edition cassette tape. The title track "Chain" later received a Korean version which is included in the repackaged version of the group's first album, ''

Regular-Irregular ''Regular-Irregular'' is the first studio album by South Korean boy band NCT 127, the second sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT. Described as a multi-genre concept album with a total of eleven tracks, the album was released by SM Entertain ...

'' several months later. The song 'Come Back' later received a Korean and Chinese version. The Korean version was featured in NCT 127's first album ''

.'' The Chinese version was featured twice by WayV; First in the debut digital EP: The Vision and then in their first mini album: Take Off.

Track listing

Credits adapted from

Naver Naver (Hangul: 네이버) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. It was launched in 1999 as the first web portal in South Korea to develop and use its own search engine. It was also the world's first operator to in ...

. * Note: The cassette edition of the EP consists of tracks 1–3 on Side A and tracks 4–5 on Side B.

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2018 EPs SM Entertainment EPs Japanese-language EPs Avex Group EPs NCT 127 albums IRiver EPs